Rainy Day
by GarnetEwe
Summary: Tails hopes for a peaceful Sunday but when a storm breaks out, one by one his friends begin seeking solace in his comfy home.
1. Intrusion

A/N: The italics represent Tails' thoughts (But that's kind of obvious -_-')

***

Tails awoke in a cold sweat. Glancing at his clock he realized he had only been snoozing for an hour before being roused. He was sure he had heard someone downstairs fumbling around in the kitchen and had already puled back the bed covers. An icy draught swept across the floor, freezing his toes and the sound of heavy rain bounced off his window.

Stepping into the hall Tails braced himself, prepared to fight the intruder with a baseball bat in hand. Step by step he edged towards the stairs, dark shadows being cast up the wall. Swallowing and taking a breath, the fox began to descend the stairs, pausing with every creak. Finally arriving at the foot of the staircase, Tails slowly peered through a gap in the door to see a faint light shimmering from the fridge door.

_What sort of burglar breaks into someones house to raid the fridge?_

Relaxing his guard a little, Tails pushed the door open and squeezed through the crack. The sound of clanking and ruffling hit his ears as he closed in on the culprit with a tight grip round the bat handle. He was about to knock the thief unconscious when Sonic suddenly emerged from his refrigerator, slurping from a carton of milk. Sighing, the fox dropped his arms and hunched over, allowing his heartbeat to slow to a steady pace.

"Sonic, what are you doing here so late at night?" Tails quizzed.

Sonic replaced the milk and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand, "Hey Tails, I need a place to stay for the night." He motioned to the window, "Rain's too much for me to handle."

Tails fumbled for the light switch, blindly walking into the wall and smacking his nose in the process.

"It's okay buddy, I can find my way in the dark. I'll just camp out on your couch tonight." Sonic said before closing the fridge door and heading into the living room. Tails grumbled whilst rubbing his aching nose. At least now he could get some peace and quiet.

It wasn't unusual for Sonic to drop by every now and again, especially when the weather was bad. Usually he just slept beneath a tree or found a dry cave to nap in but the rain was particularly bad tonight and it was no surprise he wanted to mellow in the comfort of a sturdy house. Though it was small, Tails' home was cozy and welcoming and he always tried to keep it neat and dust free. It was his haven away from the cluttered and dirty workshop below, stained with oil and scattered with numerous pieces of scrap metal.

Clambering back into bed the little fox pulled the covers back over his body and lay his head down on his pillow. Sonic was like an older brother to him and Tails cared about him very much. However, he wasn't without his flaws and this was one display of Tails' pet peeve, namely barging in without permission and scoffing down his food. Tails sighed once more and then turned over to drift off to sleep.

A crack of thunder stirred Tails, who opened his eyes to view the dark clouds overhead. It seemed a storm was brewing and that meant Sonic would most likely be staying for another night. The house was quiet yet chilly and Tails shivered as he headed into the kitchen to make tea. Grabbing two mugs from his cupboard, Tails flicked the kettle switch on and headed into the front room finding Sonic sprawled across his couch with a knitted quilt covering him. Fiddling with his old style fireplace, the fox lit some logs and squatted before the spreading fire for warmth.

"Hey buddy," Sonic mumbled as he sat up. "Is that the kettle I hear boiling?"

"Tea right?"

"Right." Sonic nodded. "By the way, it looks like there's a storm brewing. Guess I'll stay here until it dies down, kay bud?"

"Sure." Tails said, defeated once more.

Minutes later the two friends were sat opposite one another, Tails in an armchair and Sonic on the couch, sipping tea. The logs on the fire crackled as they burned, blanketing the room in a pleasant heat. The peace was interrupted by Sonic's stomach growling loudly.

"Say Tails I'm getting a little hungry, you don't by any chance have any chilli dogs in do ya?"

"You want chili dogs for breakfast?" Tails asked cynically, watching as Sonic scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, stay here and I'll go and cook you some."

Sonic sat back and placed his feet on Tail's mahogany table, closing his eyes and letting out a slight yawn. Meanwhile Tails set to work cooking his friends breakfast, muttering under his breath as he complained about Sonic's intrusion. Sundays were a day of rest and now that Sonic, his ever demanding pal had arrived, Tails was sure he would be running errands constantly.

"Hey Tails!" Came Sonic's raised voice.

"What!" Tails screeched back.

"There's somebody knocking at the door."

"Well open it then!"

Tails huffed about opening and closing cupboard doors, turning on his oven and preparing the plate when Sonic's voice interrupted once more. "Tails it's Knuckles, he wants to speak to you."

Tails threw the towel he was holding down and stomped into the living room. Sure enough Knuckles was stood in the doorway, holding up a hand to sheild the wind and grimacing intensely.

"What Knuckles?" Tails asked scornfully, surprising his friend.

"I need to ask you a favour."

Tails stood before him, looking stern and serious in an intimidating manner. "Well?" He began tapping his foot impatiently.

"I don't normally mind sleeping on the ruin steps but the rain is so severe that I'm cold and damp and my dreadlocks are sticking together. Can I stay here for the night?"


	2. Conflict

"A little rain never hurt anyone." Tails said.

"You let him in!" Knuckles yelled pointing a fist at Sonic who was trying his best to stifle a laugh.

After some consideration Tails allowed his compassion to win him over and stepped aside to allow Knuckles in. Remembering his courtesy as a host he returned to the kitchen to finish Sonic's breakfast and make Knuckles a cup of tea.

"Tired of living like a bum Knux?" Sonic joked, elbowing the echinda in the ribs.

Knuckles spewed out a number of obscenities as Tails slammed the kitchen door, hoping to block out some of the noise whilst he worked. Those two could really do some damage when they were together and Tails had to use all of his self control so as to not throw them outside in the storm. As the pan sizzled and spat, Tails slumped into one of the sturdy wooden dining chairs praying that the storm would clear by tomorrow morning. He didn't know if he could cope with both Sonic and Knuckles lounging around. The door opened and Knuckles came storming in, slamming it behind him.

"That Sonic really pisses me off."

"Really?" The fox replied, not really listening.

Knuckles sniffed the air and eyed the pan longingly. This didn't go unnoticed and Tails raised from the chair, "Want what Sonic's having?"

"Uh, yeah sure whatever pleases you."

_It would please me if you went hungry and left me to my own devices._

After serving up two plates of chili dogs, Tails entered the front room ready to serve them and hopefully keep his friends quiet for a few minutes.

"What are you doing!" Came the foxboy's scream as his jaw dropped. Knuckles and Sonic both stared at him in confusion. "Stop that Sonic!"

Sonic's finger was idling over the window. The heat had caused condensation to appear and it seemed the hedgehog had begun to draw a very bad charicature of Knuckles with his finger.

"What's the problem Tails?" Sonic asked.

"Don't you know what happens once the condensation disappears? The image you drew will stick!"

"So." Sonic shrugged, unaware of Tails' glare.

"Rub that off right this instant!" The fox demanded.

"Look, it's just a little picture it won't do any h-"

"Now!"

Sonic's face dropped and he quickly rubbed the image off the window before returning to his seat and clasping his hands together like a bashful child. Tails shook his head disapprovingly and handed his friends their breakfast to muttered thanks. He was about to sit back in his armchair when he noticed Knuckles had already beaten him to it.

"Knuckles that seat is mine."

Although Knuckles mouth was full of chewed food he still found the ability to speak. "What, is it like your _special _seat or something?"

"Yes as a matter of fact it is, if you wouldn't mind sitting over there next to Sonic I would be very grateful." Tails said clenching his fists.

"But I don't want to sit next to him." Knuckles moaned in a whining voice sending food splattering across the room.

"How old are you? I thought you were supposed to be a big boy but here you are crying because you don't want to sit next to Sonic, grow up and get out of my chair!"

The echidna just stared for a few seconds, his eyes wide and his chili dog dripping sauce onto his plate, before finally moving to his appointed position on the couch. Sonic smirked and Knuckles stared daggers at him as the two continued to chew away on their meals.

The next few hours passed peacefully as Tails read a book whilst Knuckles and Sonic sat at separate ends of the couch scowling. The fox, noticing their bored exterior, placed his bookmark on the current page and closed his book, putting it down on the table beside his chair.

"Do you guys like monopoly?" He asked cheerfully.

"Who doesn't?" Sonic perked up.

"I don't." Came Knuckles' harsh reply.

"That's just because you can't do the math." Sonic added with a chuckle.

"It's alright Knuckles, I have a calculator you can use." Tails said, rooting in the side table's drawer.

"I'm not a child!" Knuckles shouted.

"But-" Sonic began.

"Let's just play the damn game!"

The three friends set up the game board on the coffee table, clearing it of any mugs and plates that had previously been placed on it. There was another knock at the door and Tails stood to answer it.

"Hmph, took you long enough." Shadow growled, holding out a wrench to the fox.

"Thanks Shadow, did you fix that G.U.N robot then?"

"Yes."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two of them as Shadow refused to budge from the doorway and Tails was too polite to shut the door on him.

"Hey Shadow, wanna join us?" Sonic waved from beside the table. "We're playing monopoly."

"Oh no," Tails interrupted. "I'm sure Shadow has places to be, right?"


	3. Stories

The black hedgehog watched as Sonic and Knuckles fought over the metal playing pieces, intrigued he decided to join them, "Well I suppose I could do with drying myself out."

Tails fell backwards as Shadow helped himself to the warmth of his home, sitting across from the squabbling duo who were still arguing over the dog piece. Closing the door solemnly, Tails took his place next to Shadow and snatched the dog playing piece from his friends.

"Mine."

He wasn't going to argue with Shadow, especially considering he was wet and miserable from working all day in the rain.

After finally deciding on their counters, the game began. Everyone had their own way of playing. Tails kept his money in a pouch around his waist, Sonic had his in a separate yet neat pile on the floor, Knuckles' was a jumbled mess scattered here and there in an untidy mound and Shadow was taking the whole game a little too seriously, refusing to let anybody see his stack or get near it, keeping it as far away from the others as he could and getting moody when anybody tried to peek.

"So, erm, what does this mean?" Knuckles asked, holding up a community chest card.

Sonic leaned over to check. "You don't have any houses or hotels yet so that card doesn't matter."

"No," Tails said, noticing Knuckles place the card on the top of the pile. "You have to put used cards on the bottom of the pile."

"Who stole my twenty dollar bill!" Shadow suddenly fumed, scouring the room for his missing note.

"Nobody has been near your money Shadow, geez." Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Then why can't I find it!"

"Um, Shadow." Tails said, tapping the hedgehog's shoulder. "It's sticking out of your shoe."

Shadow pulled the piece of paper from his shoe and turned a little red. "Oh, well I erm...Let's get on with it."

The game continued through the day until the sun began to set. Knuckles had numerous outbursts of rage due to being put in jail three times and Sonic's inability to sit still was getting on every body's nerves. Things were made worse when Shadow had to pay for repairs on his five hotels and ultimately ended up broke.

"What am I supposed to do now foxboy, I have no money left?" Shadow asked, banging the table with his fist.

"You can sell back some of your property." Tails insisted, trying to keep the hedgehog calm.

"But it's mine you can't have it back." Shadow said shielding his cards.

Tails sighed and decided it was time to end the game before it was smashed into a billion pieces. Gathering every body's score Tails was sure he was going to win, being somewhat of a master at the game but was shocked to discover the actual winner.

"So who won?" Sonic asked.

"Kn..Knuckles!"

"What?" Sonic lunged forward to check the scores and finding no mistake with Tails' calculations, turned to stare at the echidna in disbelief.

Knuckles' expression changed from a smirk to irritation at seeing his friends reactions, "Why do you all look so surprised, I'm not an idiot you know."

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Tails asked in a gleeful manner, trying to keep the peace before argument broke out.

"Well seeing as it's getting dark how about we tell each other a good old ghost story?" Sonic said, leaning back against the couch.

Though Knuckles made it clear ghost stories were for kids and Shadow's brow furrowed, the four of them eventually gave in and agreed that doing something was better than doing nothing. Sonic willingly agreed to be the first storyteller.

"Okay, so there's this brave hero right? He lives in a little house by a lake with his super genius little brother. One night his little bro wanders into the surrounding forest during a severe storm to collect fire wood and when he doesn't come back the brave hero, shall we say Speed? Speed goes out to rescue his brother Niles only to be attacked by a giant shadow."

"Wait a minute," Shadow said. "Why am I in this story and why am I giant?"

"Yeah and why am I in it?" Tails asked.

"Why am I not in it?" Knuckles demanded.

Sonic looked back and forth between his friends trying to decide who to answer first. "Shadow, I didn't mean you I meant an actual shadow. Tails you're not in this, Niles is just a representation of your characteristics and Knuckles I've only just started the story, gimme a chance to finish will ya?"

"Okay," Shadow folded his arms and closed his eyes. "It's obvious that this Speed character is just another incarnation of you Sonic. So typical of you to make yourself the hero of your stupid story."

"Hey, I'm not finished." Sonic moaned.

"You are now." Shadow replied. "I'll tell you a decent story so sit back and listen up. My story begins on a dark and stormy night. A group of close acquaintances were visiting one another at a remote house. It was late and the rain was heavy, the thunder was loud and lightning crackled in the distance. After much deliberation the group had decided to sleep at the house and leave the next day when the sky was clearer. However, that night as they were sleeping peacefully a slow paced banging woke everyone in the house. The youngest of the bunch agreed to answer the door, as it was his home they were staying at. As the front door creaked open a large and round silhouette towered above them. A crack of lightning lit up the figures grin and he forced his way into the house, knocking the little runt to the floor."

Sonic, Knuckles and Tails were now on edge, eager to hear the ending of the story.

"Anyway he massacred them all." Shadow concluded.

His friends faces fell as they were disappointed by his tale's sudden end. This went seemingly unnoticed by Shadow who preoccupied himself by itching his nose. Knuckles sat forward and declared himself the next storyteller but just as he was about to begin there was a heavy banging on the door. All four of them peered in the direction of the pounding only to be startled by a bright flash of lightning outside the window.

"Go ahead Tails, answer it." Sonic's voice quivered as he pulled an uneasy glare at his friend.

"Why me?" The fox shuddered, remembering Shadow's story.

"Because it's your house."

Unable to argue with a vote of three to one, Tails stood and headed for the door with a sense of panic running through him. The banging was getting louder as he eased closer and closer to the door and the deafening thunder made his legs feel jellied. Taking the handle in his fingers, the little fox breathed steadily so he wouldn't hyperventilate and turned the handle until it clicked. The door flew open with the unbearable wind and the four of them let out synchronized screams, for before them in the dark doorway, stood a large and round silhouette, grinning menacingly.


	4. Slumber

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long, I've been busy.

***

"Oh my God, Shadow's story is coming to life!" Tails screeched as he stood quivering at the doorway.

"Close the door Tails!" Sonic yelled from behind.

Knuckles and Shadow sat in bewilderment as they awaited combat with the creature, attempting to compose themselves enough to fight back. Sonic however was clambering beneath Tails' coffee table trying his best to secretly sneak away only to have his fingers crushed beneath Shadow's jet shoe.

"You coward, running away!"

Sonic peered into Shadows eyes with clenched teeth and tears forming, yanking at his hand to free it from beneath Shadow's weight. The only thing he could manage to whimper was a quiet 'ouch.'

"Hello Tails." The figure beamed.

"It knows my name!" Tails cried, backing away.

"Take Tails if you want just leave the rest of us alone." Knuckles added hysterically.

Tails threw a horrified glare in the echidna's direction unsure of whether to flee or fight back in his panicked state. Acting quickly the fox grabbed the wrench he had left by the side of the door and lurched forward ready to whack the offending enemy.

"As I was saying Tails," The familliar voice continued. "Have you seen Knuckles anywhere?"

Tails stopped abruptly, realizing that the creature stood before him was neither friend nor foe but simply their neutral companion Dr. Robotnik. Frozen on his tip toes, Tails could do nothing but stare at Robotnik as his cheeks burned with embarrassment. Knuckles, Sonic and Shadow had also frozen in position, looking more confused than their little friend.

"Dr. Eggman, what are you doing here?" Tails mumbled as he finally managed to relax his stance.

Robotnik smiled and twiddled his soaking moustache, dripping with rain drops as he answered, "I managed to trick that gullible echidna into gathering some spare parts from a military base for me but he hasn't been back all night, have you seen him by any chance?"

Tails looked back over his shoulder catching sight of a pair of feet crawling away, belonging to none other than Knuckles. If he thought he was going to be tricked by Eggman again and get away with it by hiding in Tails' house he could forget it.

The fox leaned in close to Robotnik and cupped his mouth before whispering, "He's over there by the couch."

Robotnik peered around the door into the living room, taking in the small yet quaint living conditions. The toasty fire and the summery colour scheme beckoned him and he gladly welcomed himself into the house, though his height meant he almost reached the ceiling. Much to Tails' dismay, the man closed the door behind him leaving little or no room to allow him to be kicked out.

_Curse my politeness!_

"So Eggman," Sonic said as his adversary took a seat on the couch. "What's this I hear about you sending Knucklehead to gather scrap metal for you?"

Robotnik squeezed his moustache in a twisting position like a wet piece of cloth, resulting in a puddle of water soaking into the rug below. Tails clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes, letting the wrench drop before he lost control and started bashing heads.

"Well yes, I sent him away yesterday evening but it seems he's gotten sidetracked." Robotnik said as he watched Knuckles' pathetic attempt to scamper away.

"What do you want scrap metal for?" Sonic quizzed.

"For my project of course."

"And what would that be?"

"Well," Robotnik smiled. "I'm working on a new doomsday device." Noticing everyone staring at him he added, "Wait...let me try that again."

Before he could continue a thud caused everyone to turn and look in the direction of Knuckles who had been so busy eyeing Robotnik that he had crawled headfirst into a desk. He stood, a little dazed and slumped down beside Eggman on the couch.

"Nice to see you again Knuckles." Robotnik mused.

"So Doctor, will you be staying with us long?" Shadow asked.

The scientist looked out of the window and after a few moments looked back at Shadow, then finally at Tails who shrugged his shoulders and headed into the kitchen to boil the kettle again. An awkward silence followed with numerous coughs and fidgets as nobody had anything appropriate to say, that was until Sonic piped up and shouted to Tails if he could use his computer to surf the web.

Setting it up wasn't too difficult, only needing to plug it in and switch it on but Knuckles was adamant that he wanted to have a go as living in the ruins meant he wasn't able to buy himself a computer. Sonic was hesitant at first as he recalled the catastrophe that was Knuckles flying skills, or lack of, during the shuttle flight in space. Giving in Sonic allowed Knuckles to have his way and handed him the plug. The plug was inserted correctly and without much force leaving only the on switch to be pushed.

"Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed seeing his friend pound on the button with his fist. "Uncurl your hand don't hit it that way."

Knuckles did as he was told scornfully, the little light blinked and the hard-drive came whirring to life until the log on screen was displayed under the title 'Miles.' Thankfully there was no password lock and a single click on the image allowed them free reign of their friends PC.

"So what do you guys wanna look up?" Sonic enquired.

"I have an idea." Came the surprising voice of Shadow who waded through the crowd to reach for the mouse.

He was a fast at typing and successfully managed to open up the browser window and find Google's search engine. A look of curiosity fell over them all as they watched the black hedgehog type in five simple words: _Shadow The Hedehog Fan Art._

"Dude, you are vain." Sonic chuckled, placing a hand on his adversary's shoulder.

Shrugging him off, Shadow clicked the first link and began scrolling through numerous incarnations of himself often smirking either mockingly or admiringly as he scoured the images.

"Click another link, I don't see any images of me here." Eggman demanded.

His finger stopped rolling at one particular picture and his face contorted into an expression of pure shock at what he saw.

Leaning in closer, the others faces soon turned to the same expression as they realized what they were staring at. On screen was a piece of fan art titled _Hedgehog Love _consisting of Shadow and Sonic in an erotic embrace. Taking over from his catatonic friend, Sonic began scrolling further down the page. Image after image of SLASH couplings hit their eyes as they found themselves unable to look away.

"Did..Did I just see me and Eggman together?" Knuckles shuddered.

"Hey look at this one." Sonic said, stopping at an unusual picture.

"What's that?" Knuckles questioned.

"I think it's my leg." Shadow added. "No wait...oh!"

Back in the kitchen Tails had just finished making everybody another mug of tea and was now sliding the door open with his leg to prevent himself from dropping the tray on the floor. Stepping into the main room he stopped as he saw his four guests conglomerating around the PC.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Don't look Tails!" Sonic answered whizzing round. "Save your innocent eyes."

"What are you talking about?"

Placing the tray down onto the coffee table, the fox wandered over to the computer, commotion in the air as Sonic and the others fought to cover the screen. Too late.

"For goodness sake, how old are you looking up silly things like this?" Was all the fox said before closing the web page and shutting down the computer. "You're never allowed to use this again without supervision understand?"

Later that night the storm had perked up again so Tails figured it was best to allow the group to stay the night, considering his courteous manner and hospitality. Unwilling to leave the hopeless bunch alone, he agreed to sleep in the same rom as them to keep order. Sleeping bags at the ready, they all nuzzled down next to one another. Shadow made sure to keep his distance from the others, still a little traumatized from the violation of his character. As he laid out his sleeping bag, Knuckles accidentally placed his hand over Sonic's and after spotting his action quickly pulled it away.

"I didn't mean that!"

A wry smile spread across the hedgehog's face, "Sorry Knux, I don't play that way and besides you're not my type."

Knuckles' fists clenched and he bared his teeth,"Shut your mouth!"

Tails observed his surroundings and couldn't help but feel proud of his actions. Though his day had been ruined by the overbearing bunch he knew his home had somehow brought them all together, friends and enemies alike. Watching them all snuggle down together produced a warm feeling deep down and he allowed himself to smile.

It did not take long for this peace and quiet to be ruined as there was yet another knocking at the door.

_Not again._

He thought to himself as he collapsed onto his pillow, unwilling to move. Sonic, noticing his friends reluctance, slipped out of his sleeping bag to peek out of the misty window but immediately drew back against the wall as he saw the visitor. The others gave him a questioning look.

"It's her." He trembled as his teeth chattered.

They did not need to be told who 'her' was as only one girl could induce such fear into the blue streak's heart. Knuckles was about to get up and answer the door but much to his surprise Shadow had already beat him to it and was pulling the door open.

"Shadow, what are you doing here?" Came Amy's high pitched inquisitive voice.

"I could be asking the same question." Said a silky smooth voice belonging to none other than Rouge.

***

A/N: Stay tuned guys the next chapter is the final one ^_^


	5. Peace

"I assume you've come to retrieve me Rouge." Shadow said emotionless, letting the rain pour in.

"Actually I came of my own accord. I was a bit worried when you didn't return to HQ."

Amy was being intercepted by the bat and could not push her way through in her search for Sonic. Huffing and puffing and jumping up and down to see over the the bat, Amy spotted Knuckles and Tails and proceeded to wave at them hysterically.

"Have you guys seen Sonic around?"

Tails and Knuckles shared a knowing glance unwilling to reveal their friends position but also, with the knowledge that the pink hedgehog was wet and frustrated, unwilling to face her wrath if they refused to tell her any information they had. Robotnik on the other hand, was taking pleasure in the new found attention with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm fine Rouge, I'll be staying here for the night." Shadow said trying to get her to leave.

"I heard you were returning foxboy's wrench so I figured he might know where to find you but look, here you are like the best of friends, staying the night."

"Go away Rouge." He told her in a monotonous voice.

Rouge wasn't taken aback, knowing very well what he was like. She was used to it by now. She was however a little annoyed when Amy barged by her to reach the door.

"Sonic my love where are you!"

Her head was now inside the house frantically looking this way and that. Her target was still pressed against the wall, trembling a little as she searched for him. After finally observing her surroundings she calmed down a little, uncomfortable in her current situation.

"Are you guys having a slumber party?" She asked, looking astounded, then noticing Robotnik, added, "With Dr. Eggman!?

"Now now Amy," Robotnik began. "We're quite capable of acting civilized to one another."

"Isn't this a little weird?"

They all stared at her feeling a little bashful. It was true that slumber parties were often associated with girls and so it had become a natural assumption that only girls had them. Feeling silly and humiliated at her blatant comment, they all slunk down onto their pillows, avoiding her eyes.

"Hey Knuckles," Rouge called to the echidna. "Isn't it bad for you to be here and not out there guarding the Master Emerald?"

Knuckles pouted at her, "Don't go near that Emerald Rouge, I'm warning you."

"What, and rouse you from your little rendezvous with you buddies, how cruel do you think I am?"

Sonic had somehow managed to creep by the side of the couch and was sat, hunched up with his arms wrapped around his knees, trying to be as quiet as possible. Of course with Amy around it was impossible to hide for long.

"There you are!" Came her shrill voice as she popped her head over the arm of the couch and proceeded to grip onto the hedgehog's neck. "I've been looking everywhere for you, is this where you've been the whole time?"

"Amy!" Sonic choked as he fought to release himself from her tight, suffocating grip. "Amy, ack, I can't...breath."

Shadow walked over to Amy and with a simple pinch to the back of her neck she fell limp and unconscious over Sonic's back. Sleeping peacefully and still with a smile on her face, Shadow hauled her across the room to Rouge.

"Here, take her home."

"What did you do to her?"

"Sleeper hold."

Rouge took the lifeless girl in her arms with a look of surprise, unsure of whether to try and wake her or simply take her home in her current state.

"Can't I at least stay for a while?"

"No. Boys only."

"But I..."

"Goodbye Rouge." Shadow interrupted, shutting the door in her face.

Tails watched in admiration of the black hedgehog. Perhaps it was his courage or maybe he was just openly bad mannered but whatever the case, the fox wished he could bring himself to close the door on his friends every once in a while. Sonic had lay down on his back, fatigue had started to set in from being around Amy for less than five minutes but nevertheless he was thankful to Shadow for getting rid of her for him.

"I just wish you could have been a little more gentle with her."

Shadow grunted a little, his way of complying.

"Won't Rouge be mad at you for shutting her out like that?" Knuckles asked.

"She'll get over it. She'll probably just run down to the ruins and make off with the Master Emerald when the storm clears."

The echidna turned a little pale at hearing this, his pupils shrank and his lips pursed but he restrained himself from lashing out.

"Goodnight everyone." Tails chirped as he turned out the light.

"Goodnight." They replied in unision, except for Sonic who was already fast asleep.

At around two in the morning Tails, Robotnik, Shadow and Knuckles all awoke after a night of slipping in and out of sleep. This was down to the fact that Sonic snored quite loudly. Having put up with it for three hours, they could not take any more.

"What are we going to do about him?" Robotnik moaned. "I'm a scientist, I need to get plenty of sleep so my brilliant mind is in full swing."

"Why don't we smother him with a pillow?" Shadow proposed.

"Shadow!" Tails screeched.

"Lets try waking him." Knuckles said, leaning forward and gently rocking Sonic back and forth, whispering to him and them, in a fit of rage, shaking him violently."Nothing, he sleeps like a rock!"

"Well, we could try moving him somewhere else." Robotnik added. "Like the kitchen."

So all four of them, having agreed to move him, got to their feet and each took an arm or a leg before ushering the snoring hedgehog into the kitchen and dumping him on the floor.

"Do you think he'll be alright here?" The fox inquired, looking at his friend.

"If he didn't wake up while being moved, he won't wake up now." Knuckles grumbled.

Finally being able to get some peace and quite, the remaining guests snuggled down once more unable to hear Sonic's snoring. However, another disturbance was in the wake as a low pitched rumble erupted followed by an overpowering odour.

"Knuckles!" Tails coughed. "Did you just?..."

"No!"

"But I can smell it."

"It was the chili dog!"

***

When the sun had risen and the clouds had cleared allowing thin shafts of the sun's rays to seep through, Sonic opened his eyes to the fridge door. Confused he stood up, wondering how he had come to be in the kitchen.

Rolling his sleeping bag up and placing it on the kitchen table, Sonic walked into the living room with a carton of milk in his hand, slurping as he drank. Robotnik had moved off the floor and onto the couch, Tails was in his chair, Shadow was in the corner by the bookcase and Knuckles was still on the floor, mouth agape and dribbling.

"Hey Sonic." Tails slurred as he regained conciousness. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah I guess. I somehow ended up in the kitchen though, strange huh?"

"Uh, yeah...strange."

One by one the others began to stir until Knuckles was the only one still sleeping. Shadow and Robotnik both rolled up their sleeping bags just as Sonic had done and gave them back to Tails.

"Why do you have so many of these anyway?" Shadow asked.

"You never know when you're going to need a spare or two."

"Well Tails I must offer you my gratitude for letting me stay the night. I must say that I quite enjoyed it." Said Robotnik, shaking the fox's hand.

"Thanks Eggman."

"I didn't get wet." Shadow said, which Tails interpreted as a thank you.

"Well Tails," Sonic said. "It's nice and sunny again, so I guess this means we'll all be out of your hair. Thanks again buddy, I had a blast."

Sonic, Robotnik and Shadow all left in unison, leaving only Knuckles to be removed. Tails walked over and began rocking him, increasing the pace each time the echidna refused to budge until finally waking him.

"Come on Knuckles, it's time to go."

"Already, but I'm still tired?"

"Look the sun has come out, it wants to play."

"I'm not a child!" He shouted, sitting upright.

"Okay but I'm pretty sure Shadow meant what he said about Rouge nabbing your Emerald once the storm had passed."

Knuckles was up and out of the door, nothing but a red blur muttering his thanks and cursing under his breath as he headed back to Angel island. Alone at last Tails sank into his chair to absorb the silence, eventually dozing off.

A knocking at the door. That door that had been his vice, his pain and suffering, that door that was so popular lately, was being knocked on once again. Dragging his feet across the floor, he pulled the handle down and heaved the door open.

"Hey Tails," Sonic, alongside Shadow and Robotnik, greeted him. "It's started to rain again see." Pointing to the sky Sonic demonstrated the overhanging clouds. "Apparently the storm is going to last for another night, so we were wondering if we could, you know, camp out with you again?"

Remembering Shadow's actions the night before the fox glared at them unsympathetically and replied, "No, goodbye." Before shutting them out and locking the door to enjoy his alone time.

"I told you he wouldn't let us in again." Sonic sighed.

"So what do we do now?" Robotnik asked.

"Well, Rouge owns a club." Said Shadow.

"Oh yeah so she does." Sonic said.

"I'll buy the first round of drinks." Robotnik offered.

"Should we invite Knuckles?" Added Sonic.

Shadow shrugged, "He'll know where to find us."

The three of them headed off toward Club Rouge in high spirits and Tails was left feeling liberated at finally standing up to his bothersome friends. They were Rouge's problem now after all. Having overheard their conversation Tails couldn't help but feel a little pity for the bat.

_Perhaps I should call her call her and warn her in advance..._

Fin.


End file.
